A SOLAR MINIMUM SUNSPOT: With Solar Minimum right around the corner, sunspot counts are at an almost 10-year low. So it came as a surprise yesterday when a relatively large sunspot emerged near the sun's eastern limb. AR2699 has a primary dark core larger than Earth with many smaller magnetic condensations trailing behind it, in all stretching more than 75,000 km across the sun's surface. Rare "solar minimum sunspots" are capable of intense explosions just like sunspots during more active phases of the solar cycle. Visit Spaceweather.com for more information and updates.
Above: Looking for a far out Valentine's gift? Visit the Earth to Sky Store. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus fly items to the edge of space and sell them to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. All proceeds support STEM exploration. Shop now.
